Five 'new' coasters coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain? Not so fast

Brady MacDonaldLos Angeles Times

You're going to need a cheat sheet to keep track of all the new roller coaster names at Six Flags Magic Mountain" href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/six-flags-magic-mountain/">Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2011.

That's not to say that Magic Mountain is actually getting five new coasters this year. The Valencia amusement park is adding only one truly new coaster. The four other coasters will be re-branded, relocated, re-themed and remade -- one of each, in fact.

Re-themed: In early January, Magic Mountain dumped the Terminator name from its apocalyptic-themed wooden roller coaster, which made its debut in 2009. The park kept the theme but revamped the pre-show and changed the name to Apocalypse.

Remade: On March 19, Magic Mountain will reopen the Superman: The Escape magnetic-launch shuttle coaster as Superman: Escape From Krypton, with trains that run backward instead of forward as they have since 1997. With on-track testing underway, Magic Mountain has begun teasing a pre-opening "technical rehearsal" for coaster fans on its Facebook page.

Relocated: A 28-foot-tall junior coaster -- formerly known as Road Runner Express at the now-shuttered Six Flags New Orleans park -- will also make its debut March 19 at Magic Mountain. The coaster was originally scheduled to open last summer at Magic Mountain as Mr. Six's DanceCoaster, but the park postponed the launch and dropped the name. After considering a new theme based on DC Comics superhero sidekicks, the park opted for simplicity and will name the coaster Road Runner Express. The coaster, which will have a 36-inch height requirement, replaces the former Sierra Falls water-tube slide.

Re-branded: The Percy's Railway coaster will get an as-yet-to-be-determined new name as part of a re-branding of the Thomas Town kiddie area of the park. Don't feel bad for Percy, though. The 10-foot-tall children's coaster has gone by many names over the years, including Goliath Jr. (2001), Wile E. Coyote (1985) and Clown (1971), according to Roller Coaster DataBase. Magic Mountain plans to unveil the re-branded Whistlestop Park kiddie area March 19.

New: The Green Lantern, a so-called fourth-dimension vertical coaster with zigzag track, is the one truly new coaster coming to Magic Mountain in 2011. Billed as a first of its kind in the U.S., the ride is set to open on Memorial Day weekend. The addition of Green Lantern will require renaming the Gotham City Backlot as DC Universe. It turns out that the Green Lantern and Batman can't exist in the same comic book "city," but they can coexist in the larger "universe."

What does all this mean? In a few short months, Magic Mountain will boast a total of 18 roller coasters and will reclaim the "Coaster Capital of the World" crown from Ohio's Cedar Point.